Apple isn’t the first stock to take a shot at $1 trillion

Warren Buffett boosting his stake in Apple has pundits predicting it is poised to hit US$1 trillion (R12.5 trillion) in market value. But the iPhone maker isn’t the first to tread that lofty path.

PetroChina crossed the milestone back in November 2007, when its mainland shares almost tripled in value in their Shanghai trading debut.

But the state-controlled energy company dropped below that level within a day and had fallen below $500bn by March 2008. It now ranks fifth among Chinese companies, at less than half the market values of e-retailing behemoth Alibaba Group and e-payment giant Tencent Holdings — which both traded above the equivalent of $500bn at several points this year.

Apple topped $500bn for the first time in February 2012. Currently, Amazon.com, Microsoft, Google’s parent Alphabet and Facebook are all half-trillion-dollar-plus companies.

Microsoft was the first company to reach $500bn in July 1999. It was about half China’s annual GDP at the time. China’s GDP is now more than $11 trillion. — Reported by Lee Miller, (c) 2018 Bloomberg LP